Kathmandu: International Booker Prize winners Banu Mushtaq and Deepa Bhasthi will join Kathmandu Kalinga Literary Festival at Hotel Yak and Yeti, Kathmandu, on September 13 and 14. 

Historian and noted writer Dr. Vikram Sampat, acclaimed author and Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup , internationally acclaimed literary agent Kanishk Gupta , eminent English writers like Narayani Basu, Prof. Jatindra Kumar Nayak, Ashok Kumar Bal, Smarak Swain, Sandeep Singh Chauhan, Member of Parliament and writer Sujit Kumar , writer, Editor Vineet Gill, Milee Ashwarya Publisher and Senior Vice President, Adult Publishing Group at Penguin Random House India and several others English writers will jointhe 4th Kathmandu- Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF).

This was informed by the Kalinga Literary Festival Founder and Director, Rashmi Ranjan Parida.

Winner of the International Booker Prize 2025 for Heart Lamp. Banu Mushtaq is a writer, activist and lawyer in the state of Karnataka. Mushtaq began writing within the progressive protest literary circles in southwestern India in the 1970s and 1980s: critical of the caste and class system, the Bandaya Sahitya movement gave rise to influential Dalit and Muslim writers, of whom Mushtaq was one of the few women. She is the author of six short story collections, a novel, an essay collection and a poetry collection. She writes in Kannada and has won major awards for her literary works, including the Karnataka Sahitya Academy and the Daana Chintamani Attimabbe awards. Heart Lamp is the first book-length translation of her work into English, having been translated into Urdu, Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam.

One of the stories from Heart Lamp has been published in the Paris Review. In May 2025, Heart Lamp won the International Booker Prize 2025. Featuring 12 short stories written by Mushtaq between 1990 and 2023, Heart Lamp poignantly captures the hardships of Muslim women living in southern India.

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Deepa Bhasthi is a writer and literary translator based in Kodagu, southern India. Bhasthi’s columns, essays and cultural criticism have been published in India and internationally. Her published translations from Kannada include a novel by Kota Shivarama Karanth and a collection of short stories by Kodagina Gouramma. Her translation of Banu Mushtaq’s stories was a winner of English PEN’s PEN Translates award and, collected as Heart Lamp, was the winner of the International Booker Prize 2025.

An interview with Banu Mushtaq and Deepa Bhasthi, author and translator of Heart Lamp will be held at the Kathmandu KLF on September 13, 2025. 

Historian and Noted writer Dr. Vikram Sampat will join the festival as speaker. Bangalore-based historian, Dr. Vikram Sampath is the author of ten acclaimed books on Indian history, including Splendours of Royal Mysore: The Untold Story of the Wodeyars, Voice of the Veena: S. Balachander, Women of the Records and Indian Classical Music and the Gramophone. His two-volume biography Savarkar: Echoes from a Forgotten Past and Savarkar: A Contested Legacy and his latest books, Bravehearts of Bharat: Vignettes from Indian History, and Waiting for Shiva: Unearthing the Truth of Kashi's Gyan Vapi have all gone on to become national bestsellers. His latest book Tipu Sultan: The Saga of Mysore's Interregnum (1760-1799) has been creating waves even before it hit the stands and in just a month of it's publication, went on for a third reprint! 

In 2021, Vikram was elected a fellow of the prestigious Royal Historical Society. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi’s first Yuva Puraskar in English literature and the ARSC International Award for excellence in historical research in New York for his book My Name Is Gauhar Jaan: The Life and Times of a Musician. The book has even been adapted for a play, Gauhar, by Lillette Dubey. He was among four writers and artists selected as writers-in-residence at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in 2015. Vikram has a doctorate in history and music from the University of Queensland, Australia, and was a senior research fellow at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi. He was also a fellow of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, Eisenhower Global Fellow and a visiting fellow at the Wissenschaftskolleg Berlin. Currently, he is an adjunct senior fellow at Monash University, Australia. He is the Founder of the Archive of Indian Music, the Foundation for Indian Historical and Cultural Research (FIHCR) that fosters new scholarship in Indian history, and NAAV AI, a tech startup that he established with Sandeep Singh Chauhan that translates content from English to Indian languages.

Acclaimed writer and Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup will join the festival as speaker. He authored the novel Q & A, adapted in film as Slumdog Millionaire, the winner of Best Film for the year 2009 at the Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards and BAFTA Awards.Swarup's debut novel, Q & A, tells the story of how a penniless waiter in Mumbai becomes the biggest quiz show winner in history. Critically acclaimed in India and abroad, this international best-seller has been translated into 43 different languages. It was shortlisted for the Best First Book by the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and won South Africa's Exclusive Books Boeke Prize in 2006, as well as the Prix Grand Public at the 2007 Paris Book Fair. It was voted winner of the Best Travel Read (Fiction) at the Heathrow Travel Product Award 2009. A BBC radio series based on the book won the Gold Award for Best Drama at the 2008 Sony Radio Academy Awards and the 2008 IVCA Clarion Award. HarperCollins brought out the audio book, read by Kerry Shale, which won the Audie for best fiction audio book of the year. Swarup's second novel Six Suspects, published by Transworld, was released on 28 July 2008 and has been translated into more than 30 languages. Swarup's third novel is The Accidental Apprentice, published by Simon & Schuster (UK) in 2013.Swarup's most recent novel The Girl with Seven Lives, published by S&S India (16 July 2024). The novel made longlist in 2025 for the International Dublin Literary Award.

Noted writer and internationally acclaimed literary agent Kanishk Gupta will join the festival as speaker.Eminent English writers like Narayani Basu, Prof. Jatindra Kumar Nayak, Ashok Kumar Bal, Smarak Swain, Sandeep Singh Chauhan, Member of Parliament and writer Sujit Kumar , writer, Editor Vineet Gill , Milee Ashwarya Publisher and Senior Vice President, Adult Publishing Group at Penguin Random House India and several others English writers will jointhe 4th Kathmandu- Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF).

Annual Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF) is one of the leading Literary festivals in World from India, from 2022 Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF) organizing Kathmandu edition in Nepal capital city.4th Kathmandu- Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF) will be held on September 13,14, 2024 at Kathmandu.Jeewan Jyoti Digital Care from Nepal in association with Kalinga Literary Festival join hand for Kathmandu KLF Edition to celebrate the spirit of Lord Shiva and Gautama Buddha in the context of Nepal-India literary ties.The collaboration will strengthen the cultural dialogue, religious as well as literary perspective and prolonged relations between Nepal and India and South Asian Countries. Over 300 writers from Nepal, India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka will join the festival.

“4th Kathmandu Kalinga Literary Festival will showcase literature, music, dance, poetry and other art forms. It will be a life time experience for the lovers of literature, Music, Dance, art, poetry. The Festival will celebrate the long-standing ties between Nepal and India and South Asian Countries in the context of the emerging global cultures,” said KLF Founder and Director, Rashmi Ranjan Parida.

Central theme of the festival is "Beyond Borders: South Asian Literature in a Changing World" said Kathmandu KLF Director, Vikas Bhusal. “Overall, Nepal's contribution to global civilization is significant and diverse, reflecting the country's unique cultural heritage, natural resources, and strategic location,” said Vikas Bhusal, Director of the Kathmandu Kalinga Literary Festival.

South Asia is a region of profound literary richness, deeply rooted in centuries of storytelling, oral traditions, and written texts that have shaped the global literary landscape. From the epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana to the contemporary narratives of diasporic authors, South Asian literature has consistently redefined itself in response to socio-political transformations.

In the 21st century, South Asian voices have emerged as powerful agents of change, addressing crucial issues that transcend national boundaries. The theme for Kathmandu Kalinga Literary Festival 2025, Beyond Borders: South Asian Literature in a Changing World, seeks to explore how writers, poets, and intellectuals from the region are contributing to global conversations on identity, social engagement, climate action, economic development, cultural evolution, inclusion, and spirituality.

Kathmandu KLF 2025 will bring together established authors, emerging voices, academics, and literary enthusiasts from across South Asia and beyond.

The festival will include:

Panel Discussions & Keynote Talks – Featuring prominent thinkers, writers, and commentators discussing the core themes.

Poetry Readings & Performances – Showcasing the power of verse in shaping consciousness.

Book Launches & Author Interactions – A platform for new and established writers to share their works.

Workshops & Masterclasses – Engaging sessions on writing, translation, and publishing.

South Asian Literary Awards & Recognitions – Celebrating the contributions of authors in shaping the region’s literary identity.

Cross-Border Collaborations – Engaging with international literary festivals and networks to foster global dialogue.